Born to Die
by ayoscifi
Summary: "Oh my heart, it breaks every step that I take, but I'm hoping at the gates, they'll tell me that you're mine" Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough, but we manage somehow to get to the finish line. Is that what's going to happen between Karen and Derek? Only time can tell. Takes place one year ago, based on the first season.
1. Chapter 1

"You know you shouldn't be drinking this much, don't you darling?"

It was their second night in Boston. The whole cast had decided to spend the night in a random pub, celebrating their first official opening - Bombshell was doing perfectly fine, for the first time since its creation.

Karen was happy. Her dreams were finally becoming reality, and she was doing what she always wanted to. But she was also very confused, and a little bit sad. It wasn't like her relationship with Dev still had chance to survive - they obviously wouldn't make it work. They were living in completely different worlds, and even though they somehow understood each other, eventually, she knew they would break up. But she definitely didn't expect that their relationship would end the way it did - with her fiancé having sex with her co-star.

Karen wasn't used to drinking a lot. But hell, she needed to, at least that night. She needed to forget everything for a moment... by getting hammered drunk - thank god the creative team wasn't there.

She was knocking back her third or fourth shot of tequila when she heard his voice, right behind her. Slowly, she turned around to face him. Drunken grin plastered on her face, she answered him "And you know you are not supposed to be here, don't you, Mr. Wills?"

She was drunk. And yet, somehow, she was still the most beautiful woman in the place. And the cutest.

Sitting on the bar stool next to her and ordering a glass of scotch, he looked at her, amused by her drunkenness. Grinning, he answered her "Why am I not supposed to be here?"

Karen ordered a beer and smiling, said "This was supposed to be the ensemble night..." She turned to face him. Playfully hitting him on the arm, she completed "and it doesn't include the director!"

"And where's everyone at, darling?" Derek said, taking a sip of scotch.

"They already left." Karen looked down. She sighed, took a sip of her beer, and started to laugh. Or at least Derek thought she was laughing. Because he honestly couldn't say if she was laughing or crying.

That was when he finally realized something was wrong. He just couldn't understand why he took so long to. After all, it was Karen. Getting hammered drunk. Something was obviously wrong.

But even though he was now worried, he knew he couldn't ask her anything. She'd probably get mad at him, and definitely wouldn't explain him anything. So he decided to stay there, waiting. It was late, and he wanted to make sure she'd get back to the hotel, safe. And he knew that if he wanted to, he'd have to keep his mouth shut.

Karen finally stopped, and catching her breath, she said "I'm sorry. I'm just... I'm such a screwed up person"

She wasn't sure why she was about to tell him everything. She needed to tell him what happened, one way or another, and she didn't quite understand why. Maybe she was just testing him - did he really care about her? The answer was probably no, but she wanted to try anyway. '_Just for fun' _she thought.

"Dev cheated on me." She took a long breath. "He cheated on me with Ivy, and he was going to propose anyway."

Derek had to admit he would never think of something like that, especially coming from Dev. Not that Derek liked him, but he was pretty sure that Dev loved Karen. He was wrong.

"This is... surprising." Derek was really concerned. He first thought that it was all about the show and how it would affect her performances. Deep inside though, he knew he was concerned by her. Karen, the person - not Karen, the leading lady. And this thought was disturbing because Derek never really cared about anyone. '_One glass of scotch and I'm already drunk_', he thought.

"You don't have to pretend you care about me, Derek. So enough with the worried face, seriously." Karen grinned and finished "It's fine. I'm fine... I guess."

He wasn't sure if he cared or not about her. However, he knew he had to do something. It was late, everyone had left, Karen was drunk, and he couldn't stop wondering how she'd make her way back to the hotel. She needed him. "You know darling, the problem is, I do care about you. And that's exactly why you are coming back with me." Derek stood up, put enough money to pay their bills on the bar counter and offered his hand. "Come."

Karen was drunk, confused and pissed, but she wasn't stupid. She knew she'd have problems to get back to the hotel safely, by her own. She definitely didn't trust Derek that much, but having someone helping her sounded really good, especially when everyone else had already left.

She didn't know what his "coming back with me" meant though. Was that the hotel or his room? But then, she remembered her conversation with the ensemble earlier on and realized that she actually didn't care.

She just stood up and took his hand.

* * *

"Drink it"

She looked terrible. He probably wasn't looking that good either. It scared the hell out of him to think that she was actually considering doing something like that. And if it wasn't for him, he was pretty sure that by now he would be at a hospital instead of home.

Tom shook his head, trying to silence his thoughts. He was well aware that she needed him, more than ever, and he wanted to be there for her. He had to stop thinking about how his night could have ended, how he was pissed about the fact that once again, Derek fucked up someone else's life. Because of lust. And selfishness.

He sat on the couch next to her, and waited. Quietly, kept looking at her. She was motionless. Ivy was holding the cup of tea he had handed her, staring at the floor.

Tom didn't know what to do. He tried to say something, anything... But nothing was coming out of his mouth. But he knew he had to, so he started "Ivy, look... I..."

Before he could finish, she interrupted him. "You know Tom, I was supposed to stop and think about everything." She took a long breath and looked directly at him. She was teary-eyed. "Everything that I was about to do, everything I did. But right now..." Ivy was trying her best to finish her sentence, but the tears she was fighting back were making everything look impossible. At least this battle, she was able to win. "I can't think about anything but the way I treated you and Sam. You two are my best friends. You guys are the family I never had. And I can't stop blaming myself for considering destroy everything we built together. I was selfish. I was stupid." A single tear escaped her eyes. "I just want you to know that I'm ashamed. Deeply ashamed. I'm sorry, Tom."

He was surprised, to say the least. His best friend was back. The Ivy he fell in love with was back. Tom was relieved. He'd had a lot of problems in the past year, but the biggest one was definitely his relationship with Ivy. When she finally got the chance to play Marilyn, she grabbed it with everything she had - it was her first real chance to play a leading role and she was able to do everything she could. And he perfectly understood that. However, her perseverance turned into a nightmare. Ivy changed her personality, she turned into a person Tom definitely didn't know. She became selfish, arrogant, mean, liar. So having the chance to hear something like that coming out from her was definitely a relief. He was now crying with her. "I... I can't express how much I'm happy right now, Ivy"

He hugged her. It was a simple hug, but it meant everything. It was a hug filled with trust, happiness, guilt, hope.

Neither Tom nor Ivy knew what was going to happen. But they were sure they wanted to face it together.

* * *

"I thought you meant we were heading back to the hotel"

Derek handed her a bottle of water, sitting by her side on the bed. "And we did it... We're just not in your hotel, but mine" She was deciding whether or not drinking the water. He grinned. "It's water, Karen. Drink it. It will help you sober up."

He called her Karen. That was a first. When she agreed to go back with him, she decided she would stop overthinking everything for a moment, especially after her conversation with the ensemble. Not overthinking everything when she was with him was an impossible idea, though. She just wanted to be like Ivy. Now that she had broken up with Dev, everything Karen could think of was having sex with her director. Even though she was well aware that she was thinking such thing because she was drunk, not even her could deny the fact she always felt somehow attracted to him, since the first day they met - which wasn't a big deal of course, since the man was actually very charming and handsome, with his perfect tousled hair and his deep voice. And fuck, he had a british accent.

But she wasn't Ivy. She wasn't Bobby, Jessica, Sue, Dennis. She never had casual sex - Karen always faced sex as something beautiful, magical. And even drunk, she wasn't sure if she wanted to have sex with him. Hell, she wasn't even sure if he wanted to have sex with her. Since they got there, Derek hadn't tried anything. And such thought was disturbing - he wasn't interested in her anymore?

She was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't realized he wasn't by her side anymore. She started to look around, for the first time analyzing the place. His room was awesome. It was clean and open, but at the same time elegant, spruce. There wasn't a balcony, but there was, besides the bedroom and the bathroom, a small office and a mini-bar. It was a hotel room, but it was like if everything was made particularly for him. She wondered if the rest of the creative team was staying in the same hotel as well.

Slowly, she made her way to the bathroom. He wasn't there. She realized then he wasn't anywhere in the hotel room. In all her drunkenness, she remembered to check the door - it was locked. "Oh great... now I'm kidnapped" She made her way to the mini-bar, laughing.

_"At least there's a mini-bar"_ She thought, before pouring herself a glass of scotch.

* * *

When Derek got back to the hotel, he was carrying a bag of food in one hand, and his coat in the other. He remembered he had forgotten his coat in the theater when he was at the drugstore, buying some aspirin he knew Karen would ask for in the next day.

He was in the elevator, thinking about his evening. He knew that bringing Karen to his hotel room instead of hers wasn't a great idea, but he couldn't do anything else. When she told him he wasn't supposed to be in the pub earlier on, she was actually right. He was supposed to be at a meeting with the creative team, but he chose not to. He needed a night off, so he went to the pub, and for his surprise, Karen was there, alone. Due to the fact that Eileen, Tom and Julia were staying at the same hotel as Karen, he couldn't take the risk to find any of them there.

When he opened the door to his room, everything was dark. He turned the lights on, and the first thing he noticed was a trail of clothes - her clothes - from the bed to the bathroom. Putting the bag and the coat on the floor next to the bed, he slowly made his way to the end of the trail. He opened the door, and found the bathtub filled with a huge layer of foam on the surface.

Derek was scared. What the hell was that about? Instinctively, he approached the tub and warily, he started to stir the foam. "...Karen?" He heard someone closing the door, locking him in the bathroom.

_"What the fu..." _Before he could finish his thought, he heard a voice behind the door. "You, Mr. Director, you are bad bad guy"

"Karen, what are you doing?" They were both now leaned against the door, each one in a different side.

"You tried to kidnap me! Now you're stuck in there until I decide when you are allowed to leave." She was grinning due to her drunkenness, but she was also trying her best to keep a serious tone.

"Karen, darling, have you been drinking? Please, don't do this, let me help you." Derek hated the fact that he couldn't get mad at her. He was supposed to be angry. After all, he went out, one in the morning, looking for food and aspirin for her. But instead, he was having fun somehow.

Karen sighed. She opened the door, and looked directly at him. "Where were you, Derek? You were by my side, and then, suddenly, you were gone. You locked me in here."

She looked tired, and somehow pissed. Derek knew she was still drunk, but he could sense a glimpse of seriousness behind her words. "Karen, I was buying you some food. And aspirin. I told you I would, but I don't think you heard it. I locked you because I was afraid you could leave."

He was telling her the truth, and Karen could see that. She stopped for a second, thinking. She grinned. "That's really cute, Derek. If you were buying me some food, then I guess it's fine." Karen smiled at him. Then, she started to pick her clothes up from the floor, heading to the bathroom. Before she could close the door, she said "I'm sorry about the foam thing. I wanted to scare you. Face it as a joke." She winked, and closed the door.

To say he was confused was an understatement. Derek had no idea if he quite understood what just happened. She was wearing panties. And a bra. Nothing else. Of course he'd seen many women in underwear, but she was Karen. She was different. "_She is my exception" _He thought, before shooking his head and convincing himself he was going crazy. He just needed alcohol, and everything would be fine.

* * *

When Karen got out of the bathroom a few minutes later, she was wearing one of his shirts, her hair in a tousled bun. Derek was pouring himself a glass of scotch when he heard her getting close to him. "Hey... listen, I'm kinda wearing your shirt, hope you don't mind."

Turning around, he answered her, before taking a sip of scotch. "No problem darling." She gave him a smile, and approached. She was now standing in front of him.

"No happy birthday this time, Derek?" She said in her best husky voice, definitely teasing him.

A few minutes before, when she was in the bathroom, she was sure of what she was about to do. During the time Derek was out, Karen was debating whether or not to have sex with him. She took the first choice.

Dev had cheated on her. With Ivy. Revenge definitely sounded good, but it wasn't everything. Karen was attracted to Derek, he was attracted to her. Derek was handsome, charming, and due to his experience, she knew he was probably good on bed. She just needed to let it go, feel the moment. She wanted it, he wanted... So why not? Karen was just praying that the sex would be worth her regret in the morning.

Now, standing in front of him, she wasn't sure of anything. Of course she wouldn't let him realize it, but deep inside, she was scared. "_I might need another drink_" She thought, right before taking the cup out of his hand and drinking it in one gulp.

Derek didn't know what to do - he was truly surprised. Karen must have realized it, because she put the glass on the counter behind him, and slowly, she brought her right hand to his shirt, grabbing it and leading the way to the bed.

She started to sing "Happy Birthday", exactly how she did a year ago. This time though, she knew the end would be different.

One hand in his shirt and the other unbuttoning hers, Karen straddled him on the edge of his bed.

"_Happy birthday, Mr. President..._"

It was happening. The casting couch, the sexual attraction, his fantasies... Everything was back. Derek couldn't believe he was actually having his chance. _She wanted to have sex with him. _

_"Happy birthday..."_

He couldn't stop thinking about what happened, a year ago. The way she was singing, the way she straddled him, _the way he got horny_. He never told her, but he actually had to take a cold shower right after she left. "_Which is probably the same thing that is going to happen this time_" he thought.

"_...to you._"

When she finished the song, Karen leaned forward, gently pushing him down on the bed. Instinctively, Derek's hands moved to hold her hips. Even though they were fully clothed (Karen maybe not that much), they both could _feel _each other_._

She wanted to have sex with him, but she wanted to take it slow. She wanted to _play_ with him. Karen knew she just had to kiss him, but instead, she just leaned foward and seductively, bit the corner of his bottom lip.

He wanted her. More than ever. The feeling of her teeth on his lips was driving him crazy - and they weren't even kissing yet. He knew he just had to _answer_ her. He just had to push her down on the bed, and do what he was good at. Yet, he couldn't. He was still holding her hips, but he wasn't moving at all. Derek was well aware he wouldn't have another chance, but still, there was something stopping him... something he, unfortunately, perfectly understood.

Karen was drunk. She was hammered drunk and on the rebound. The real Karen would never accept coming back to his room, in the first place.

He could smell alcohol on her breath. "_This is so not right" _He thought, before grabbing her wrists.

"Karen, stop"

She ignored him. Instead, she looked him in the eyes, grinned, and started to kiss his neck, sucking and licking as she started to unbutton his shirt. Derek wish he wer strong enough to stop her, but he couldn't. Why was she making everything so bloody hard? He wanted to stop her, but she wasn't helping.

Surprisingly enough though, somehow, Derek managed to get out of her grasp. He needed air. Catching his breath and sitting on the bed, he started "You are drunk, Karen. Go get some sleep, darling. Please." He picked up a pillow, turned off the lights and tried to find some comfort on the cold floor next to the bed.

Karen was stunned. She wasn't expecting he'd stop her. She was very confused, but she was way too tired to protest. Her eyes grew heavy, her sight grew dim - she totally needed some sleep. She would think about what had happened in the morning after.

However, in all her drunkenness, she knew Derek was lying on the floor. It wasn't fair, he sleeping on the floor and she staying on the bed. Karen decided then to do the same thing.

She picked up a pillow and put it on the floor, at the other side of the bed. Before lying down, she picked up the sheet and covered him. "Good night, Derek."

Karen sighed, and went back to her side. A few minutes later, they both fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N: wow. So I actually finished the first chapter! This is surprising, because it took me about four/five days to. So yeah, I'm happy.**  
**I'm also happy because guess what... I already know what's going to happen! And this is a first. Because I NEVER know what's going to happen in my fics...**

**Anyway. I think it would be fair if I share some informations with you, guys.**

**First: I hated the second season (don't even ask me why... because I'd have to write a text about it). So, this fic is based on the first one and what I think what could've happened right after Boston...**

**Which basically means two things:**

**1) No Kyle, Jimmy, Ana. You know, I love Ana and Kyle. They're cute and all, but just like the rest of the characters from the second season, they were poorly written. I definitely don't want to throw their storyline in here, especially because there's no Hit List.**

**2) Ivy and Derek, no matter what happens, are not getting back together. You see, I do like Ivy. I think she is totally redeemable, interesting. However, there's no love between them. No matter how many times Josh tries to convince me that. _There is no love there_. There is, instead, a huge necessity to be loved, that later, turns out into a deep friendship. **

**...Which I'm not writing here. Ivy's going to stay for a few chapters. She's going to be important, but not a regular character.**

**Second: I hope you still remember Michael Swift... ;)**

**(And thank you for reading. r&r are always appreciated!)**


	2. Chapter 2

When Karen woke up, she felt the most screwed up person in the world. She had a headache, her body was aching and the sun rays were hitting her face. She tried to find some comfort in the soft matress she was on, but "comfort" was something impossible for her at that moment.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and - surprise - things got even worse. She had no idea where she was at. Fuck. She started to panic as she was trying to remember what happened. She couldn't remember anything, nothing was coming.

"_Ok, so..._ _I probably had an one night stand with someone I don't know and now I'm kidnapped. Great._"  
The funny thing was - "kidnapped" was a word that sounded _familiar_... like if she had said that before... In another time.

She was trying her best to remember what happened the night before, but everything was a blur. Random words were popping up on her mind though. "_Kidnapped_", "_birthday_", "_foam_". What the fuck that was supposed to mean?

Karen sat down on the bed, her head in her hands. She was trying to calm down, when she heard her cellphone ringing. She picked it up from the floor.

"Still sleeping, darling?"

Derek. From all the people, he was the one calling her. Nice. So this is the part where she was supposed to lie and say she was on her way to rehearsal. _"What time is it, anyway_?" She had no idea. She had no idea about the time, where the hell on earth she was or who she'd spent the night with. She had no idea about anything.

"What? No! Derek, I'm on my way, gimme five minutes more" She was an actress but such sentence sounded fake even to her own ears.

For her surprise though, Derek started to laugh on the other line. "It's eleven o'clock Karen. I don't really think you're on your way to rehearsal."

_Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck_. "_And... this is the part where I lose my job. Awesome._" Karen was desperate. She was literally almost hanging up on him.

"Derek, I..."

"Stop, darling. Listen, I'm kidding. I will explain everything to you... but I need you to open the door"

There was a brief silence; she didn't answer him, so Derek said "The card, Karen. On the floor, right in front of the door."

Confused, tired and scared, Karen stood up. Derek was right after all - the card was indeed on the floor. She picked it up and opened the door.

"You look... good." Derek said, smiling. He was carrying a backpack and his messenger bag. He stepped in, and Karen closed the door. Before she could turn around to face him, she sighed, slightly knocking her head against the door.

"This is your room, isn't it?"

Derek had never thought he could get relieved because he refused to have sex with someone, but that was exactly what he was feeling - relief. He couldn't imagine how he'd feel knowing he would have explain her they had sex when he was sober and she was hammered drunk.

But no, such situation didn't happen. And yes, the real Karen was back, as it seemed. _"Drunk Karen is by far more funny" _He thought, letting a small grin escape.

"...Yes" He put the bag and the backpack on the bed and sitting on it. There were many things to be told, but he was willing to give her some time to figure out everything.

Slowly, she turned around to look at him. Her face was an open book. She was scared. Ashamed. Confused. And somehow pissed. Derek could read her - he knew what she was going to ask next.

She dropped her gaze, staring at the floor. Her voice was a little bit louder than a whisper. "Did we..."

Before she could finish, Derek answered her "No." He didn't want her to get embarrassed. He wanted to protect her, so he kept his tone as serious as he could.

"Nothing happened, darling. As I told you, there's no need to get worried." He could sense her relief. Slowly and carefully, Karen made her way to sit next to him on the bed. She was unsure. Insecure. And he couldn't understand why, but the fact the she was uncomfortable near him was getting him mad. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. He did want her to feel safe. To feel good. "But you see, we need to talk. A lot."

Putting his best fake "I'm sorry" face on, he stared at the ceiling and continued. "I'm sure you're going to get mad at me about something I did, although not for the reason you are thinking."

When he looked back at her, she had a weak smile on her face. She nodded. Taking that as a cue, Derek grinned and picked the backpack. He handed it to her. "There are some clothes in there. I know you probably want to take a shower, think about your life..." He stopped for a second, thinking. Looking at the floor and grinning, he continued "Yeah... Just promise me you are not asking me about the clothes."

She smiled, getting his point. She knew he probably went to her room and picked some clothes... Karen was well aware of what that meant: Bobby and Jessica. Problem.

She was curious about what Derek said to them and what they were probably thinking about her, though. But she would leave those questions aside for awhile. She just needed a shower.

They both stood up. Derek said he would order some food, so they could talk during lunch. Before she could step into the bathroom, she heard Derek's voice coming from the bedroom. "Hey darling... You really don't remember anything, do you?" She turned around and shook her head. He grinned and answered her. "You should try a cold shower, then. It helps, believe me."

Karen smiled and rolled her eyes, before closing the door.

* * *

She didn't take his advice. The hot water felt good on her skin. She stood there, relaxing and thinking about everything that happened to her in the past twenty four hours.

She was starting to remember some things. The bar. Dev and Ivy. Her opening as Marilyn. Dear lord, she was _Marilyn_. She was Marilyn and still, that didn't mean so much to her at that point of her life.

Pretending she didn't care about Dev was very difficult. Almost impossible. Of course she did care. She'd spent three years of her life with the man she once thought that would be the father of her children. Her husband.

Well, he did propose. After cheating on her with Ivy Lynn.

Karen gave a humourless laugh before switching the cold tap on. "_Let's pray Derek is right."_

* * *

When Karen got out from the bathroom, she was wearing an old baseball shirt and sweatpants. Her body was still sore and weak, and she had a terrible headache. She saw Derek holding a tray, heading to the bed.

"Really, Derek? Lunch at the bed?" She said, following him.

"What... Would you rather eat on a restaurant? We can try that, but I don't really think you'd make to the elevator." He answered her, smiling.

Karen grinned. "Well, you have a point. A really good point." She said, sitting in front of him. "I have a horrible headache and my body is sore. I am really screwed." She sighed, her head in her hands.

"...That's why your brilliant director bought you some aspirin last night" Derek grinned and picked up two pills from the bedside table. Handing them to her, he continued "Hopefully these will help you through our long conversation." She took and swallowed them.

Derek opened the paper bags on the tray and took some french fries from the inside. "You see, I didn't know what would you like to eat, so I ordered the most generic thing I could think of - hamburguer and french fries." He ate them and handed her the other bag.

Karen couldn't believe Derek actually bought her aspirin. And fast food. She could be naive sometimes, but she wasn't stupid. She knew Derek was not used to eating _that_ kind of food. She knew he ordered because of _her_. That was very surprising indeed. And confusing. But the fact was, in the past week, Karen had met another _side_ of Derek. Somehow, he acted _different_ when he was around her. And what was more confusing - _she was very glad he did. _

Karen shook her head. "_Overthinking. Not good." _Quickly, she silenced those thoughts. For some reason, thinking about Derek was something that made Karen very uncomfortable. She wasn't supposed to think about him. And yet, that was something that recently, she was doing a lot.

Suddenly, Derek broke the silence, which made Karen come back to reality. "So, darling... Where do we start?"

* * *

"Tom, I need you to trust me, ok?" Julia and Tom were having lunch, after the long meeting they had with the creative team from Bombshell earlier on. Eileen had called off rehearsals so they could decide the most important question they had: who was going to play DiMaggio.

In the meeting, Derek told that he'd asked Michael if he would like to take the part back. He didn't give him an answer, but Derek was convinced he could bring Michael back, that is, if the creative team was okay with it.

Somehow, Julia knew that was going to happen. After a perfect perfomance, she knew Eileen would do anything to have him as DiMaggio. So she had spent the previous night thinking about the consequences. She even talked to Frank, and surprisingly, he was fine with that situation.

He trusted her. Tom not so much, though. "I do trust you, Julia. What I do not trust is this your toxic relationship with Michael, or whatever you call it. And this is not me being worried only about the show." He took her hand and continued. "I'm worried about you. And Frank."

Julia took a sip of water. She sighed. "We talked last night. We are doing fine, Tom. Michael is no longer a problem."

Tom took his hands back and hold them in the air as a surrending sign. He had one last wish though. "Just promise me one thing." He looked at her.

"What?"

"Promise me you are going to talk to Michael. Today."

Quietly, she nodded.

* * *

Karen was in shock. She hadn't said anything since Derek started to tell her what happened. She was motionless.

When he got to the floor sleeping part though, she started to laugh. Hard. She didn't know if it was a nervous laugh or if she was truly finding some fun in the disaster that was her night - she tried to have sex with Derek and unconsiously, made him sleep on the floor.

"When I woke up, you were sleeping on the floor as well. I must admit, that was a very noble gest, darling." He grinned.

When she stopped laughing, she took a moment to catch her breath. Still smiling, she said "I still can't believe you slept on the floor."

"Neither can I, believe me." He laughed. That was a strange thing - Derek felt different when he was around her. He felt comfortable somehow. He'd lost the count of how many he had laughed in the past twenty four hours - probably ten times more than he'd laughed in his whole adulthood.

He coughed, and continued to tell her what happened next. He told her how he had the consideration to avoid keeping her locked when he went out for the meeting with the creative team because he was afraid of another sexual harrassment, earning a grin from her.

Once they finished the talking and their lunch, they both stood up. There was a brief silence, before Karen say "I should go... God knows what the ensemble is talking about me right now." She frowned. "What did you tell them anyway?"

"Nothing." He grinned. "Julia was the one to bring me some of your clothes. I told her what happened, and she gladly decided to help."

Karen smiled, relieved. "Good." She headed to the main door, but before she could open it, she heard Derek coming from behind right after her. "By the way, darling. You slept on Julia's. She found you in the bar and took you to her room." He winked.

_"No wonder why he is called 'brilliant'" _She grinned. She was about to leave, but she decided to do something she didn't know well how it would look. But it was something she wanted to do for a long time. She looked at him, and hugged him. Unconsiously, she buried her head in his chest. Almost as a whisper, she told him "Thank you, Derek."

As suddenly as she hugged him, she was gone.

* * *

**A/N: Aaaaaaand, this it it. I know I took some time to write this chapter. And I know this one is considerably shorter than the first one. But the thing is, I'm totally out of time, and I really didn't know how to end this chapter, so I decided to keep things this way. I'm sorry. **

**Oh, and btw. I swear, Michael is important. And this Julia/Tom/Bombshell thing is important too. You see, this is a Cartwills story, but it doesn't mean I can't work on the others characters too. Specially when they are part of the drama. (as I said, don't forget Michael Swift!)**

**(****thank you so much for the follows/reviews**! keep them coming!)

**;)**


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